Whether in Quebec or elsewhere on the planet, the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting our lives.
Here you will find all the news throughout the day related to this crisis affecting the population, governments and the economy.
LAST REVIEW
World
- Case: 42 307 731
- Death: 1,145,847
Canada
- Case: 212 085, 99 235 in Quebec
- Death: 9893, 6132 in Quebec
ALL THE NEWS FOR SATURDAY 24 OCTOBER 2020
11:10 am | COVID-19: The latest report shows 1,009 new cases and 26 deaths.
Photo QMI Agency, Joël Lemay
11:07 am | Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday denied wanting to call an early election to take advantage of his popularity in the midst of a pandemic, saying he was “happy” to have escaped legislative elections in a vote in Parliament this week.
10:46 am | At a time when the pressure on the health system is worrying, citizens are demonstrating again on Saturday against public health rules intended to curb the pandemic in the province.
Photo Dominique Lelièvre
10:42 am | Iran: Khamenei calls for “doing everything” to reduce the toll of the virus.
Iranian health authorities must “do everything” to reduce the growing death toll linked to the Covid-19 epidemic, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Saturday in a rare public appearance.
The meeting was held in Tehran with members of the National Pandemic Control Committee, in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani.
According to the latest official figures released on Saturday, the pandemic has claimed 335 more deaths in one day, bringing the total death toll to 32,320.
Authorities have identified 5,814 new cases of contamination in the last 24 hours, bringing to 562,705 the total of confirmed cases in Iran, the most affected country in the Middle East.
“We must do everything” to reduce the number of victims of the new coronavirus, Ayatollah Khamenei said at the meeting.
Health officials “must ensure that infected people are identified and treated from the first days” of their contamination, added the Supreme Leader, whose comments were reported by his office.
“The experts told me that if we did this the losses would be reduced considerably,” he said.
On Monday, Mr. Rohani had urged the Ministry of Health to increase the number of screening tests.
Ayatollah Khamenei, who wore a mask like the other participants in the meeting, further underlined “the need to adopt severe sanctions for those who commit major violations of sanitary rules”.
9:48 am | Coronavirus: new restrictions in Madrid, the government is considering national alert.
New restrictions aimed at tackling the coronavirus epidemic come into effect in Madrid on Saturday, as the Spanish government considers proclaiming a state of alert nationwide to allow the imposition of localized curfews.
A few days after Spain passed the milestone of one million COVID-19 cases, regional authorities, which have public health prerogatives, stepped up pressure on the government to grant them the right to ” impose increased restrictions.
In practice, this would mean that the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declares a state of alert at the national level, which would allow regions to impose curfews, as has been decided in several European countries.
So far, nine of the 17 autonomous regions in Spain have formally requested such a measure. The government is expected to make a decision during a special meeting on Sunday.
The government can impose a state of emergency for fifteen days, but needs parliamentary approval to extend this period.
The central government is not opposed to a curfew, but considers that this exceptional regime requires, from a legal standpoint, the prior proclamation of a state of alert and requires the agreement of all the regions for this. , which he does not yet have.
9:20 am | Virus: advanced curfew at 10 p.m. in Brussels and stores closed at 8 p.m.
The Brussels authorities decided on Saturday to advance the curfew imposed in the country to 10 p.m. and ordered the shops to close at 8 p.m. and the ban on cultural and sports activities from Monday, announced the Minister President of the Rudi Vervoort region.
This new turn of the screw goes beyond the decisions adopted on Friday by the government for the whole country and follows the measures announced by the authorities of Wallonia, the French-speaking region of the country, very affected by the pandemic. “The situation is very serious”, explained Rudi Vervoort at a press conference.
7:27 am | Remotely piloted drones are being used as part of a research project in Alberta to deliver COVID-19 test kits to remote areas of the province.
7:16 am | Virus: the milestone of 10,000 dead in Germany.
The death toll from COVID-19 surpassed the symbolic 10,000 mark in Germany on Saturday, leading Chancellor Angela Merkel to reiterate her call to reduce social relations as much as possible to curb contagion.
“The agenda is as follows: reduce contacts, meet as few people as possible,” the German Chancellor said in her weekly podcast on Saturday.
The Robert Koch benchmark health watch institute (RKI) recorded 10,003 deaths on Saturday since the start of the health crisis, 49 more than the day before.
Until then spared by the COVID-19 pandemic, the country is hit hard by the second wave.
“Our behavior greatly influences the speed at which the virus spreads”, insisted the Chancellor.
Angela Merkel had already solemnly asked her fellow citizens last Saturday to “stay at home” as much as possible.
“What will be winter, what will be our Christmas, will be decided in the days and the weeks to come”, she warned again, rebroadcasting her speech of last week.
In total, 418,005 people have been infected with COVID-19 in the country, or 14,714 more in less than 24 hours, a new daily record also, even if this figure includes cases that had not not recorded the day before due to a technical failure in the data transmission.
The previous record was set Thursday, the RKI had then recorded 11,287 new cases in one day.
4h11 | Polish President Andrzej Duda has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Secretary of State for the Polish Presidency said on Saturday, as Poland faces an upsurge in the pandemic.
0h00 | COVID-19: Quebec does not have the worst record.
Simon Clark and Pierre-Paul Poulin archive photos
The head of the PLQ, Dominique Anglade, and the premier of Quebec, François Legault.